Effect of Salinity on Flowering and Yield Characters in Pigeonpea

Summary Nine genotypes of pigeonpea, belonging to early, medium and late flowering groups, were studied for their flowering behaviour and yield characters under non-saline and saline conditions. Increasing salinity progressively delayed 50% flowering by a week to a fortnight. Salinity also delayed and/or prolonged the peak period of flower production. Number and weight of the pods and seeds were reduced to varying degrees in different genotypes with the increase in salinity, pod number being least affected. Development of more number of flowers into pods under saline than non-saline conditions was the major factor responsible for this. The number of seeds/pod and 100-seed weighty were also reduced by salinity. More pod wall materials were laid down than the seed reserves in most of the genotypes under saline conditions. UPAS-120 was found to be the most resistant, whereas No. 148 to be the least resistant genotype to salinity in terms of seed yields.